Daily Times

LAHORE: As the world would observe the International Women’s Day today (Thursday) to commemorate the movement for women’s rights, the Punjab Assembly’s session, which was to be held today to shed light on women-related issues, was adjourned till tomorrow (Friday) over “busy schedule” of Women Development Department Minister Hameeda Waheeduddin.

During the Wednesday session of the Punjab Assembly, some of the legislators on a point of order urged Speaker Rana Iqbal to hold the ‘Thursday’s session’ in connection with International Women’s Day. However, he disclosed that Minister Hameeda Waheeduddin won’t attend the session, if held, due to some personal engagements, and adjourned the session till tomorrow.

Interestingly, when MPA Nabila Hakeem of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) urged the speaker to fix the Thursday session of the Punjab Assembly for women empowerment, Dr Waseem of Jamaate-e-Islami demanded the speaker that a special day should be fixed for men also.

In the Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Welfare Ilyas Insari to a query about professional beggars told the House that there were some ambiguities in the laws relating to the arrest of beggars as his department had no authority to take action against them. He said that the Punjab Police were responsible for their arrest. On this, MPA Faiza Malik of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Dr Waseem demanded that the issue be referred to a committee to be addressed. The speaker then constituted a committee to decide on the matter.

On a point of order, a treasury member, Kanwal Noman, disclosed that the medicine stock for legislators in the dispensary of the Punjab Assembly had dried up as per claim of the health secretary. She demanded the speaker that he should take notice of it and urge the government to provide medicines.

Finding the discussion a golden chance to hit the government, Dr Waseem said that it should be probed if the funds meant for the medicine stock were being used for the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train.

Later, when the speaker announced to take up the government business, opposition members pointed out the quorum and the session was adjourned till Friday at 9am.

Published in Daily Times, March 8^th 2018.